2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. None of the Tournament's top seeds advanced to the Final Four, the first time since 1980 that this occurred. For the second time in history, a team seeded 11th advanced to the Final Four as George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association won the Washington, D.C. region. They were joined by Atlanta region winner LSU(who was the first team to advance to the Final Four as an 11-seed in 1986), Oakland region winner UCLA, who had not made the Final Four since they won the National Championship in 1995, and Minneapolis region winner Florida, who had not made the Final Four since their runner-up finish in 2000 also in Indianapolis. Florida won its first-ever national basketball championship by defeating UCLA 73–57 in the final game. Florida's Joakim Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. George Mason's run was one of several upsets by lower-seeded teams in the tournament. For the second consecutive year, a No. 14 seed beat a No. 3 seed as Northwestern State defeated Iowa. No. 13 seed Bradley also defeated No. 4 seed Kansas and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating No. 5-seeded Pittsburghin the Second Round. Two No. 12 seeds won as well, as Montana and Texas A&M both won their respective First Round matchups. For the second straight year, Milwaukee won as a double-digit seed, this time as the No. 11-seeded Panthers defeated Oklahoma in the First Round. Tournament procedure and locations The first and second-round games were played at the following sites: * March 16/18: : Cox Arena, San Diego, California (Host: San Diego State University) : Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference) : Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida (Host: Jacksonville University) : Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah) * March 17/19: : American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference) : The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan (Host: Oakland University) : University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) : Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Host: Atlantic 10 Conference) The four regionals were officially named after the four host cities, a practice which also began in 2004. However, in 2007, the NCAA returned to naming regionals by their geographic location. The 2006 regionals were: * March 23/25: : Atlanta Regional, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology) : Oakland Regional, Oakland Arena, Oakland, California (Host: University of San Francisco) * March 24/26: : Minneapolis Regional, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota) : Washington, D.C. Regional, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University) Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 1 and 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, hosted by Butler University and the Horizon League. Bracket (*) – Number of asterisks denotes number of overtimes. Opening Round game – Dayton, Ohio Winner advances to Minneapolis Regional vs. No. 1 Villanova. National Last Place Game - Indianapolis, Indiana Atlanta Regional Oakland Regional Minneapolis Regional Washington, D.C. Regional Final Four – Indianapolis, Indiana Category:EvanRocks Wiki